The United States on Tuesday called on Iran’s leadership to move away from what it called bellicose rhetoric and focus on easing domestic hardships, saying Iranians deserve better after years of economic privations.
"The Iranian regime must focus on addressing the needs of its people instead of engaging in destructive war rhetoric," the State Department said in a post on its Persian-language account on X.
"After years of economic hardship and international isolation, the people of Iran deserve peace and prosperity."
Iranian officials, especially hardliners and military leaders, have repeatedly mooted striking Israel and the United States if attacked again following their surprise military campaign in June. Officials have also issued menacing rhetoric to dissidents abroad.
Last month, Iran's top security official Ali Larijani said the country must remain prepared for a fresh round of conflict as the war with Israel is not over despite a US-brokered ceasefire that put an end to a 12-day war between Iran and Israel in June.
The Islamic Republic needs to "create capacities so that the enemy will not be tempted to take action again," Larijani said in an interview with the Supreme Leader's official website.
His remarks were the latest in a series of sharp comments from leaders on both sides, with Israel’s army chief vowing readiness for further strikes and Iran’s General Staff warning of “a far stronger response” to any future attacks by the United States or Israel.
Meanwhile Israeli officials have frequently asserted that their military quarrel with Iran is not yet finished and continue to cite Iran as an alleged existential threat.
Iran’s navy test-fired a range of cruise missiles during large-scale drills last month, and the defense ministry warning of stronger response in any new war with Israel.
"Any miscalculation in the region will be met with a very strong response from Iran’s powerful armed forces,” it said in a statement.
"Senior officials of the regime have chosen to distract from internal challenges by instilling fear of external threats," the State Department said in its post.
"Iran’s leadership should instead prioritize actions that restore economic stability, improve living conditions, and rebuild trust with both its citizens and the international community."
Iran’s currency, the rial, now trades at nearly one million to the dollar, having lost almost a third of its value since Donald Trump won the US presidential election last November.
Iran faces one of the highest inflation rates in the region. According to the International Monetary Fund's estimates, the annual inflation rate has averaged above 42% since 2020, sending costs of living soaring.
Sanctions, corruption and economic mismanagement have contributed to widespread economic hardship and market instability as Iran's currency the rial has lost over 90% of its value since US sanctions were reimposed in 2018.
A poll by Iran's leading economic newspaper Donya-ye Eqtesad last month reported that just under 90% of Iranians described their level of satisfaction with government economic policies as low or very low.
“Several countries in the region are trying to play a positive role, not only Qatar,” Araghchi told reporters at the opening of the second Iran-Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) conference.
“But for starting negotiations, the question is not the mediator. The important point is the will of the other side. Whenever they accept that a deal must be based on mutual interests, without threat and intimidation, the rest are details.”
Araghchi used his speech to warn against what he called unchecked unilateralism and said the world needed to strengthen multilateral alliances.
“Today, more than ever, the world is faced with reckless unilateralism. This worrying trend has made the international order more fragile and posed serious challenges to security,” he said.“Cooperation among developing countries in multilateral formats is no longer a choice but a necessity.”
He said Iran had been a “victim of America’s unjust unilateralism and Israel’s dangerous adventurism” but would continue to act as an active regional player through bodies such as ECO.
Tehran and other member states are drafting a 10-year vision for the group until 2035 to expand its role in regional development, he said.
Turning to regional politics, Araghchi said this week’s emergency Arab-Islamic summit in Doha had highlighted a consensus on Israel as the main security threat.
“What the Islamic Republic of Iran has been saying for years -- that the Zionist regime is the main threat to the region and its aggression has no end -- has now become an undeniable truth for everyone,” he said.
He added that Iran welcomed the regional convergence and called for “collective movement and unity among all countries in the region” to respond.
On Monday, Iran’s foreign ministry rejected references to a two-state solution for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in the final communique of the Arab-Islamic emergency summit in Doha, saying the approach would not resolve the issue and accusing US policies of sustaining Israeli aggression.
On the South Caucasus, Araghchi said disputes such as the Zangezur corridor remained complex and should be settled by regional states.
“The United States has not contributed to lasting peace in the region,” he said. “Our recommendation is regional mechanisms, and the Islamic Republic has proposed the 3+3 format.”
Araghchi and President Masoud Pezeshkian are due to attend this month’s United Nations General Assembly, which the minister described as an important platform for “conveying the voice of the Iranian people to the international community.”